FRIDAY FRUMP: Possibly the most dangerous travel accessory EVER

Call me a curmudgeon if you will, but am I the only one who thinks an espresso machine for your car is a bad idea?

I love coffee and, I’m fairly certain, drink more joe than I do water. So the email from a French firm advertising its espresso machine got my attention but, as it turned out, for the wrong reason.


The email was touting the wonderfulness of the Handpresso, a “hybrid” espresso machine that “fits into the cup holder” and plugs into a car’s power outlet. Though it was already sounding like a questionable idea, I read on.

The term “hybrid” turns out to refer to the device’s ability to brew coffee using either pods or grounds and is clearly a flimsy attempt to capitalize on that popular, politically correct term. But I digress.

In fairness, the firm’s pitch gave the briefest of nods to driving safely with the phrase, “You choose the setting and the time of your coffee break,” and referred to the possibility that a driver may have traveling companions who would presumably handle any brewing duties.

Nonetheless, I immediately got the image of a driver tooling down the road at 65 miles an hour, trying to “plug the espresso machine into the cigarette lighter, add water and your favourite blend (whether it be ground coffee or pod)” in anticipation of getting “a creamy espresso in 2 mn!” Provided, of course, that they are still alive after that exercise in irresponsibility.

And you know as well as I know: It WILL happen!

“With its portable espresso machines, both manual and electric, Handpresso has coupled quality to mobility,” the email said, implying that it was actually a good idea.

“The patented Handpresso machines are sold in 50 countries and are always a talking point of design!” I’ll bet they will also be widely discussed by the police officers investigating the accidents that will no doubt result from distracted drivers who lack the good sense to pull into a parking lot or rest stop before making coffee and attempt to do it on the go because, after all, “I can multitask.”

No, you can’t.

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